Merchants valued profit above all else. As long as someone was willing to pay, they were willing to sell, even if Wizard factions stood behind many of them.
Destroying the materials outright would not only cause economic losses, but also put themselves in danger.
Feng Jun had not obtained many books in Flame City, but he had indeed acquired quite a lot of materials.
Manufacturing here was especially well-developed. After all, fire elements were an excellent source of energy for many industries.
Whether forging weapons, producing parts, or even purifying materials, all of it required large quantities of fire elements.
It was not as though the Wizards had never considered destroying these materials, but doing so was rather difficult in practice.
No one had known that Flame City would be next after Twin Towers City was destroyed, so confiscating the materials in advance had been impossible.
Manufacturers might have held relatively low status, but the forces behind them were not necessarily weak. No matter how powerful Wizards were, they still needed people to do the work.
By the time Feng Jun and his companion appeared at the city gates, it was already somewhat too late to deal with those merchants.
The Wizards' Association had all sorts of responses to make, including gathering books for destruction. How could they spare attention for such insignificant materials?
Moreover, the fierce battle in the commercial district had made many people resent the Wizards.
Some had seen their wealth destroyed, while others had lost family and friends.
Those affiliated with the Wizard camp might barely have been able to accept the loss of their wealth, since the other side had been Cultivators, their mortal enemies.
But for those outside the factions, having their property destroyed meant that all their hard work had gone to waste.